Silent Listener

🔍 Details

📝 Description

A quiet exchange took place, unnoticed by most—but not by you.

Someone was transporting files across the network, unaware that their credentials might have slipped into the ether.

Trace the digital footprints, follow the data stream, and retrieve what was never meant to be found.

🧩 Hints

1. Use Wireshark to inspect the network traffic and look specifically for FTP connections.

💡 Solution

This challenge involves analyzing captured network traffic to uncover sensitive information — specifically, credentials transmitted over FTP.

1. Open the provided .pcap file in Wireshark
2. Apply a filter to isolate FTP traffic:

ftp

3. These credentials were sent in plaintext — a known weakness of unencrypted FTP.

📚 Insights

This challenge demonstrates the risks of using unencrypted protocols like FTP, where sensitive data — including usernames, passwords, and files — is transmitted in plain text.

Key takeaways:

• Network forensics: Packet captures (.pcap files) can reveal everything from login credentials to file contents if the traffic is not encrypted.
• FTP insecurity: The FTP protocol sends data unencrypted by default. Anyone capturing traffic on the network can intercept sensitive information.
• Wireshark skills: Learning how to filter by protocol (ftp), follow TCP streams, and extract meaningful content is essential for analyzing real-world network captures.
• Real-world relevance: This kind of traffic inspection mimics what attackers, penetration testers, or forensic analysts might do in compromised networks.

🤔 Comments